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Sunday, March 11, 2018

Removing White Heat Marks From Your Table Top

Our solid wood table is old and has been very well used, it was like that when we bought it on Craigslist about 7 years ago. When we bought it, we had the intention of refinishing it. It's seven years later and I still have not done that. I'm going to try and get it done soon because this trick I use to remove these white heat marks is starting not to work as well as they have been in the past.

The table actually had white marks when we got it. The lady we bought it from said that was why she was selling it. I didn't mind because I was already planning on refinishing it anyway. We got the table and chairs for $125. Bargain!

The white marks you see here have arrived over a long period of time. I get to the point where I hate looking at them and then I do the magic trick! I found this idea way back when on Pinterest and it has worked each time.

That big circle mark there is what pushed me to making the spots disappear this time and I thought I'd document it and share it with you in case you needed to know how to magically remove white heat spots from your table. To repair these white marks, all you will need is an iron that has a steam setting and a smooth kitchen towel.

These pots are created by sitting hot items on the table. Yes, I do use pot holders, but sometimes if the item is hot enough and sits there long enough, it makes the mark due to the steamy condensation that builds up in the top layer of finish that is old and breaking down on our table. The finish on our table is wearing very thin from all the use and the heat marks happen more often now. Ironically enough, you also use hot, moist heat to fix them!

You want to use a towel that is pretty much smooth so you don't give the top layer of your finish any texture while trying to repair your white marks. The towel I'm using has been washed to death and is going on thread bare and I now use it for things like this. I've read that you can also use an old t-shirt or wax paper but this old towel is what works best for me each time.

Step 1 - Fill your iron with distilled water and set to a medium setting.
Step 2 - Lay the towel over the white mark and "iron" using slow continuous motions, don't just hold the iron still over the spot, keep moving. It will take just a few minutes to work, so keep checking often to see if the spot has disappeared.

Totally gone now! The very first time I tried this, I was amazed it actually worked. It's magical!

Here's a few more spots to remove, as you saw in the first picture, they were all over the table.

Magic one more time! I can't tell you how many times I've done this over the years, but its still very gratifying to see the magic of steam work to remove these spots from my table top.

You can still see some very light spots on there but like I said, the finish on the table is wearing thin and it really needs to be refinished. For now, this method works for me one more time until it warms up enough to be out in the shop!

I've recently read that you can also use a hair dryer to remove the
marks too, I might try that next time to see if it will work.

Thank you for sharing this! I had been using our table as an ironing board (don't worry, I had an ironing pad!!), and last time, there was a little white mark left. I now have a new ironing board, so I don't have to worry about it anymore, but I will be trying this to see if I can get rid of the white mark.

I use mayonnaise you put it on the White Spot let it sit for a while then take a soft cloth rub it in circles to rub it in if you need to reapply reapply the oil in the mayonnaise also protects the wood and helps the wood I use Hellman's when the white spots are gone you can use your favorite polish and polish your wood furniture

I use Hellman's mayonnaise I put a little bit on the white spot I rub it in with the soft cloth I let it sit for a little while then I take the cloth and rub it and when spot is gone you may have to redo it you clean your table with your favorite furniture polish the good thing about the oil in the mayonnaise is the oil penetrates into the wood and it protects the wood as well works great for me on wood tables.

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Hey there! Welcome to Clover House! I'm DeeDee and this is my honey, Bobby. Join us for redos and fix ups of our 1980's home. Also, I'll throw in a recipe or a craft from time to time. Enjoy your visit!